Family hopes Australian taken to ISIS as a child may soon be freed

In 2015, Yusuf Zahab’s parents brought the 12-year-old to live under ISIS in Syria; he was later separated from his mother and held in a men’s prison after the group fell. Now 23, he was transferred to an Iraqi facility with roughly a dozen other Australians and thousands of foreign fighters, where the Iraqi government intends to try most detainees under death-penalty statutes. Sources close to his family say emerging one outlet suggests Zahab may not face trial and could be released soon.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, echoing the broader government stance, refuses to repatriate individuals deemed ISIS-linked. Advocates such as Kylie Moore-Gilbert contend that Zahab, who was a child when taken, deserves to be brought home and rehabilitated. His mother, sister and cousin have already returned from Syrian camps, while his father remains incarcerated in Iraq.